Newsroom

Update on Unclaimed Property Publication and Call Center

Posted On:
4/21/2015

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​Starting Monday, April 13, State Treasurer Lynn Fitch
opened a call center to handle calls from Mississippians checking to see if
they have unclaimed property. By the close of business Friday, April 17, the
Treasurer’s Office handled over 1355 claims that, if verified, will return 2748
unclaimed properties worth $1,046,485.83.

“This is very exciting, and our staff has been working
hard to get these dollars back into the hands of Mississippians,” said
Treasurer Fitch. “The success from this week, combined with the $41.5 Million
we have been able to return prior to April 13, means we’ve been able to put
about $42.5 Million back into the state’s economy.”

Holders of unclaimed property were required to report
abandoned intangible property to the Treasurer’s office by November 1, 2014.
The call center was planned last fall to coincide with the 2015 publication of
the list of the newly-reported unclaimed properties. The Treasurer’s office
coordinated with the Mississippi Press Association to run the publication in
newspapers across the state starting on Wednesday, April 15. The reporting and
publication cycle occurs every three years under Mississippi law. The call
center will remain staffed for the next few weeks to handle the increased call
volume that occurs every publication year.

Unclaimed property can be anything from forgotten utility
deposits, bank accounts, stocks and bonds, and unclaimed inheritances. This
past week, some of the larger unclaimed properties that have been matched
(pending verification) were proceeds from two insurance policies worth
$70,178.04 and $44,220.53, respectively; $ 11,830.48 of dividends plus
interest; and $190,000 in stocks.